1000 Korean Words at a Glance
The second 500 words move from daily life to ideas. Words 1 to 500 name people, places, objects and routines; words 501 to 1000 add the abstract nouns, social vocabulary and written-register words that intermediate texts are built from. Each unit is a study set of 100 words in five topic groups of 20.
| Unit | Words | Level | Topic groups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korean Words 501 to 600 | 501-600 | B1 | abstract nouns, work and study, relationships, media and technology, adverbs of degree and certainty |
| Korean Words 601 to 700 | 601-700 | B1 | society and law, money and business, health and body, education and culture, time and change |
| Korean Words 701 to 800 | 701-800 | B1 | culture and arts, nature and environment, technology, travel and places, emotions and attitudes |
| Korean Words 801 to 900 | 801-900 | B1 | formal and written words, time expressions, reasoning words, quantity and degree, everyday life details |
| Korean Words 901 to 1000 | 901-1000 | B1 | society and politics, science and ideas, daily-life details, emotions and relationships, useful set phrases |
The numbering is an editorial study order, not a count from a text corpus, so word 650 is not necessarily rarer than word 640. The B1 level labels are editorial estimates as well. Like the earlier lists, these units hold nouns, adverbs and connectors; verbs and adjectives are in the verbs section, starting with 100 Korean verbs.
Which Unit Fits Your Goal?
Open Korean Words 501 to 600 first if you have finished the top 500, because its abstract nouns appear in every later unit. After that, take the units in order or by goal.
| If you want to | Open |
|---|---|
| talk about experiences, work and relationships | Korean Words 501 to 600 |
| follow news about society, money or health | Korean Words 601 to 700 |
| read about culture, nature and technology | Korean Words 701 to 800 |
| follow arguments in articles and essays | Korean Words 801 to 900 |
| finish the 1000 and check yourself across all units | Korean Words 901 to 1000 |
The table below shows what a vocabulary size typically lets a learner do. The figures are an editorial estimate to help you plan, not a research finding.
| Words known | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 100 | survival phrases, greetings, numbers, basic questions |
| 500 | simple conversations about yourself and daily life |
| 1000 | easy texts, short notices and simple opinions |
At about 25 new words a week, the five units take about 20 weeks, the same pace suggested for the top 500.
Words 501-600
Korean Words 501 to 600 opens the second half with 평화 (pyeonghwa, "peace") and four more groups of 20: work and study, relationships, media and technology, and adverbs of degree and certainty. A section on the verbs these nouns combine with helps you learn phrases rather than single words. Of its 100 words, 84 are Sino-Korean.
What Is in the Words 601-700 List?
Korean Words 601 to 700 gathers the vocabulary of news and workplace talk: society and law, money and business, health and the body, education and culture, and time and change. It starts with 사회적 (sahoejeok, "social") and shows the suffix -적, which turns a noun into a describing word. It has the highest Sino-Korean share of the five units, 96 of 100.
Words 701-800
Korean Words 701 to 800 starts with 예술 (yesul, "art") and covers culture and the arts, nature and the environment, technology, travel and places, and emotions and attitudes. A word-family table shows how one noun builds others, such as 문화 (munhwa, "culture") in 문화재 (munhwajae, "cultural property").
What Is in the Words 801-900 List?
Korean Words 801 to 900 focuses on the words that hold written texts together: formal words such as 근거 and 결론, time expressions, reasoning words such as 과연 and 설마, quantity and degree words, and a group of everyday life details. A section shows example sentences in the written plain style used in essays.
Words 901-1000
Korean Words 901 to 1000 completes the 1000 with society and politics, science and ideas, daily-life details, emotions and relationships, and useful set phrases such as 어쨌든 and 글쎄. It ends with a 10-question review quiz that samples the earlier units.
Why Are Most of These Words Sino-Korean?
Most nouns in this range are Sino-Korean, words built from syllables of Chinese origin, because abstract and social vocabulary in Korean comes largely from that layer. The share already grows in the earlier lists: 28 of 100 in the top 100, 50 of 100 in words 101 to 200 and 58 of 100 in words 201 to 300, as counted on those pages.
The advantage is that the syllables repeat, so each word you learn helps you guess others:
- 사회 (sahoe, "society") → 사회적 (sahoejeok, "social")
- 경제 (gyeongje, "economy") → 경제적 (gyeongjejeok, "economic")
- 문화 (munhwa, "culture") → 문화재 (munhwajae, "cultural property") and 문화생활 (munhwasaenghwal, "cultural life")
The Sino-Korean words lesson shows how to decode new words from syllables you already know.
What Do All the Lists Have in Common?
All five units share one format, the same as the top 500 units:
- Hangul: the word as written.
- Revised Romanization: the official system published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), shown as a learning aid; it does not show every sound change.
- Meaning and word type: a short English gloss and a label for native, Sino-Korean or loanword.
- Example sentence: one short sentence for each word, with audio.
- Nothing plays until you press a button.
The lists are study units made by this site, not an official or frequency-based list. TOPIK vocabulary has its own page at TOPIK vocabulary, and the official exam information is on topik.go.kr.
How Do You Keep 1000 Words Active?
Keep older words active with a fixed weekly review. Adding new words while forgetting old ones is the most common reason vocabulary stalls between 500 and 1000.
- Daily, five days a week: learn about 5 new words and say each example sentence aloud.
- Weekly: review the whole current unit once, and one earlier unit in rotation.
- Monthly: test yourself on a random 20 words from all units you have finished.
- Use: write two sentences a week with words from the current unit.
Practice: Flashcards and Worksheets
Drill the words with spaced repetition in the vocabulary flashcard decks, which also include the separate 500 Korean words flashcards. Printable practice is in the vocabulary worksheets.
Practice · 5
Which unit should you open first after the top 500?
Show answer
Korean Words 501 to 600
Words 501 to 600 come first, and their abstract nouns appear in every later unit.
Which unit focuses on reasoning words and formal written words?
Show answer
Korean Words 801 to 900
Words 801 to 900 cover formal words, time expressions, reasoning words and quantity words.
What does the suffix -적 do in 사회적?
Show answer
turns a noun into a describing word
사회 means society; 사회적 means social.
Where are verbs and adjectives listed?
Show answer
in the verbs section
These units hold nouns, adverbs and connectors; verbs and adjectives are in the verbs section.
Are the numbers 501 to 1000 a frequency ranking?
Show answer
no, an editorial study order
The order is an editorial study order.
Where to Go Next
If you have not finished it, go back to Top 500 Korean Words, or to Basic Korean Words for survival vocabulary. After the 1000, learn verbs from 100 Korean verbs and prepare exam vocabulary with TOPIK vocabulary. The parent page is Most Common Korean Words.
About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. The unit plans and level labels are editorial. The Korean was drafted with AI assistance; a Korean reviewer checks every lesson before it is marked as reviewed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which List in 1000 Korean Words Should I Start With?
Finish the top 500 first, then open Korean Words 501 to 600, because its abstract nouns return in every later unit. After that, take the units in order, or choose by goal: 601 to 700 for news and work, 701 to 800 for culture and nature, 801 to 900 for reading arguments.
How Are the Lists in 1000 Korean Words Organised?
The 1000 words are the top 500 plus five units of about 100 words each. Every unit groups its words by topic, and each word has Hangul, Revised Romanization, a meaning, an example sentence and audio. The numbering is an editorial study order, not a frequency count from a corpus.
Do These Lists Include Verbs and Adjectives?
No. The lists hold nouns, adverbs and connectors, which make up most of the vocabulary at this stage. Verbs and adjectives are in the verbs section, which starts with the 100 Korean verbs list and continues through lists by level, each with conjugation tables and examples.
Where Can I Find Flashcards and Worksheets for These Topics?
The vocabulary flashcard decks hub lists every themed deck with audio, including a separate set of 500 Korean words flashcards, and the vocabulary worksheets hub lists the printable sheets. Use the visible tables for printable practice.
What Should I Study after 1000 Korean Words?
Move on by goal. For exams, study the TOPIK vocabulary pages and past papers. For reading, start graded readers and short news articles, noting new Sino-Korean syllables. For speaking, learn the common verbs and adjectives with their conjugations, since the 1000-word lists are mostly nouns and adverbs.